Recently, more Americans aged 65 and older have chosen to keep working, which means they can stay enrolled in their employer group health plan to keep receiving health insurance. And, since most people become eligible for Medicare at age 65, some may decide to postpone their enrollment and enroll later once the coverage from their group health plan ends.
However, at Swisher & Associates, we’re firm believers in reviewing all your options when it comes to healthcare and finding the proper coverage. So, here’s what you can do about your Medicare enrollment if you’ve turned 65 but are still employed.
Medicare Enrollment After 65
If you’re over 65 and still employed, the best decision to make depends on your workplace, the type of insurance you have, and whether your group health plan provides enough coverage. If you’ve filed for Social Security, you’ll be automatically enrolled in Medicare when you turn 65.
However, you can drop Part B if you’re covered under a group health plan. As for Medicare Part A, you may benefit from keeping it anyway even if you’re still working and have a group health plan to avoid any coverage gaps.
After your group health plan ends or when you stop working, you will get a Special Enrollment Period to enable you to sign up for Part B. This period is great as it will allow you to enroll in Part B without having to pay late enrollment penalties.
Primary or Secondary?
If your company has fewer than 20 employees, Medicare will serve as your primary insurer and you’ll need to enroll when you become eligible to avoid late enrollment penalties and coverage delays. Since Part A is premium-free for most people, you can enroll even while under a group health plan and not have to worry about paying the premium.
If you have a group health plan and your company has over 20 employees, the best option for you will be determined by several factors. For example, if your group health plan provides enough healthcare coverage or you have little healthcare expenses, you may not need to enroll in Medicare. However, if you have high out-of-pocket costs from your group health plan, then it might be best to enroll in Medicare. If your group health plan covers your spouse or dependents, then it makes sense to continue with it, as Medicare only provides individual coverage.
If you work at a company with 20 or more employees, you can choose to keep the group health plan and postpone your Medicare enrollment, drop the group health plan in favor of Medicare, or keep both plans at the same time. If you choose to keep both plans, your employee health plan will serve as the primary insurance. Medicare will only cover the approved services after your group health plan has covered first.
Enrolling in Both
As we have mentioned before, we are firm believers in making sure you are aware of all your coverage options so you can have the best coverage possible. While we understand that you may feel it’s best to stay enrolled in your group health plan and delay your Medicare enrollment, we still recommend that you at least enroll in Part A as it is premium-free for most people, and may also be premium-free for you too.
By doing this, you’re guaranteed more coverage and in the event when your group health plan ends, you’ll already have the coverage from Medicare set in place.
To know more about your Medicare options, contact Swisher Insurance at 502-259-0780.
